DeLay criticizes Houston's policy on illegal immigrants

He favors idea of withholding federal funding from cities that offer 'sanctuary'

EDWARD HEGSTROM, Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

Published 5:30 am, Friday, August 5, 2005

SUGAR LAND - House Majority Leader Tom DeLay criticized the city of Houston's "sanctuary" policy toward illegal immigrants in a speech Thursday night.

Speaking to a packed house of Fort Bend County Republican faithful, DeLay said he supported the concept behind legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., that would withhold federal funding from cities such as Houston that refuse to enforce immigration law.

"It greatly concerns me that the police chief in Houston, Texas, has created a sanctuary in Houston by announcing that he is not going to enforce our laws," the Sugar Land Republican said, in response to a question about Tancredo's bill.

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"That is unacceptable, and we hope to address it through Tancredo's legislation or other legislation."

Since 1992, a Houston Police Department policy has officially forbidden officers from enforcing immigration laws in most cases.

Mayor Bill White has said he supports continuing the policy, because he believes immigration is a federal matter and he wants to free police up to protect the city from violent criminals.

Police in Katy also have a court-ordered policy forbidding them from enforcing immigration laws. The order came as the result of a federal lawsuit filed after a 1994 police operation to pick up day laborers.

DeLay, who is seen as a key player on upcoming immigration reform legislation in Congress, said he would support a guest-worker program that would allow immigrants to come legally to the United States and then go home. But he said the government needs to step up enforcement of immigration laws first.

Two major proposals

Two major pieces of immigration are expected to be considered when Congress returns in September.

One proposal, sponsored by Senators Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and John McCain, R-Ariz., would allow some illegal immigrants to work toward becoming legal residents and then citizens of the United States.

Senators John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Jon Kyle, R-Ariz., propose a tougher bill that would allow illegal immigrants to become guest workers, meaning they would have to go home after working here three years or more.

Cornyn and Kyle also propose tougher enforcement, including increased patrols at the border and new requirements on employers seeking to hire workers.

DeLay indicated that he would support legislation even stricter than Cornyn's. He does not believe illegal immigrants already in the country should qualify, and he does not believe guest workers should be allowed to bring their families.

Asked if he would support McCain-Kennedy, he said: "It's not going to do very well in the House, I'll guarantee that."

Places for detainees

DeLay noted that until now, even the federal government has not rounded up illegal immigrants in U.S. cities, because federal agents had no place to detain them. But he said that is changing under the new leadership at the
Department of Homeland Security
.

He encouraged local police to round up illegal immigrants, and promised that the federal government will find places to house them.

"If you pick up 50 or 100 of them, you can call the National Guard," he said. "Put them in tents."

He also said he did not support educating illegal immigrants or having their U.S.-born children become automatically U.S. citizens. But he said those would be harder to repeal.

DeLay also said he strongly supports legal immigration, which he says makes this country stronger.